"Then, Jia tried to use his previous moves to call out Mu Anxiao, "Mu Anxiao, Mu Anxiao..." He didn't know where Mu Anxiao was, so he could only call her name first.
Lou Yi looked at Jia's slightly parted lips and then at the still unresponsive door lock, his heart filled with anxiety.
In the guest room. Mu Anxiao could clearly hear Jia's voice. She opened her eyes, staring groggily at the wall in front of her, and asked mentally, "Are you trying to summon my soul? What are you doing?" Under the influence of sleep, she forgot her surroundings, meaning... she thought it was her own room.
Hearing Mu Anxiao's lazy question, Jia frowned slightly, "Are you sleeping?" he continued to ask mentally.
Mu Anxiao hummed in affirmation.
Jia was taken aback. He suddenly opened his eyes, glanced at the door lock, and shouted internally, "Are you crazy? We both..." Before he could finish, a sound like an electric current suddenly entered his ears... And just like that... their communication was interrupted.
Over there.
Mu Anxiao also woke up from the electrical stimulation. 'Not good.' she thought. As she opened her eyes and prepared to roll over, her arm was pinned down by Ouyang Ye.
"Having a nightmare," Ouyang Ye feigned ignorance, leaning slightly to stare at the back of Mu Anxiao's head.
Nightmare? Hearing Ouyang Ye's question and recalling Jia's recent words, Mu Anxiao realized... Jia must be in danger. But she was also in a precarious situation herself. If she wanted to help Jia, it was impossible.
Helplessly, she withdrew her speculation about Jia and turned her head slightly to look at Ouyang Ye, "No."
"No," Ouyang Ye said, gently patting Mu Anxiao's arm, "Why are you awake?"
"I..."
"Don't say you weren't sleeping. I heard you snoring," Ouyang Ye interrupted.
Mu Anxiao was speechless for a few seconds and reluctantly admitted, "Yes, I had a nightmare."
"I knew it," Ouyang Ye said, removing his hand and casually sitting on the edge of the bed.
The next second, Mu Anxiao immediately sat up, looking at Ouyang Ye, who had suddenly sat down, with a look of astonishment. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Nightmares aren't so easily shaken off. I suspect," Ouyang Ye stared at Mu Anxiao's face in the moonlight, "you were frightened by that monster."
"Frightened by a monster? More like frightened by you," Mu Anxiao said dismissively. "Get up."
"I won't."
"You..."
"I don't want other men appearing in your dreams," Ouyang Ye said inexplicably.
"..." Mu Anxiao was speechless.
Ouyang Ye smiled, "It seems I was right. You must have dreamed of Feng Qishi. You..."
"Don't talk nonsense. I didn't dream of anything, let alone a nightmare. If you don't get up," Mu Anxiao deliberately lifted the quilt, sat cross-legged facing Ouyang Ye, "I won't sleep. Let's see who lasts longer."
"You don't want me to protect you that much," Ouyang Ye said in a low voice.
Mu Anxiao snorted coldly, "I don't need your protection. Get up." Her gaze was cold.
"That look in your eyes is indeed perfect material for becoming a demon," Ouyang Ye said, but he still stood up.
Immediately, Mu Anxiao followed Ouyang Ye with her gaze and looked up, "Please," she spread one hand.
Ouyang Ye chuckled softly, turned, and walked towards the wooden couch.
After Ouyang Ye left, Mu Anxiao hurriedly lay down, turned to face inward, and tried to mentally call out to Jia.
At the same time, Ouyang Ye stopped at the wooden couch, slightly turned his head to look at Mu Anxiao's moving back, curled his lips, and flicked his sleeve towards Mu Anxiao.
The next second, that electric current sound reached Mu Anxiao's ears again. Hearing it, she hastily stopped calling and began to worry about Jia.
As Ouyang Ye lay down, he said, "If you're scared, call me. I'll stay with you."
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao completely lost her inclination to suspect Ouyang Ye. She said coldly, "No need. Stop talking nonsense." Then, she gasped and ceased her attempts.
Ouyang Ye replied, "Alright."
This time, Mu Anxiao remained silent.
The wood shed.
Jia sat at the table, staring at the teacup in front of him in disbelief. Then, recalling the electrical sound in his ears, he said, "That sound was clearly trying to prevent me from communicating with Mu Anxiao. That means," he frowned, "Mu Anxiao is also in trouble." He began to worry about Mu Anxiao.
"She doesn't seem to be in this mansion," Lou Yi said.
Jia paused for a few seconds, then shook his head, "No."
"What's wrong?" Lou Yi was startled by Jia's sudden agitation.
"Mu Anxiao..." Jia said, turning his head to stare at the lock on the wooden door, "might have already returned."
"Impossible," Lou Yi knew... Mu Anxiao wasn't someone who would prioritize her own comfort. If she had returned, she would have come to rescue them immediately. Therefore... he didn't choose to believe Jia's words.
Unexpectedly, Jia became firm, "Highly likely." He then pointed to the door lock, which had begun to emit a blue light, "Look."
"Look..." Lou Yi stiffened and obediently followed Jia's finger towards the door lock, his eyes widening. "It wasn't like this just now."
"If I'm not mistaken, it was that thing that prevented me from communicating with Mu Anxiao," Jia said, strongly suspecting... that the door lock might have been enchanted with a 'listening' spell. Otherwise... Ouyang Ye wouldn't have noticed it so quickly.
"It's... Ouyang Ye who did it," Lou Yi stated directly.
Jia gasped, "Possibly."
"You say," Lou Yi frowned, "is Mu Anxiao with Ouyang Ye right now?"
"What do you mean?" Jia's nerves tensed at Lou Yi's suggestion.
Similarly, Lou Yi became unusually serious at Jia's question, "You say, Ouyang Ye might be the one who interrupted your conversation."
"Yes," Jia's thoughts began to follow Lou Yi's line of reasoning.
Lou Yi continued, "If they weren't together, how would Ouyang Ye know you were talking to Mu Anxiao? And as far as I know," he cleared his throat, unusually excited, "Ouyang Ye relied on Mu Anxiao's spiritual energy to find her. Naturally, Mu Anxiao cannot escape his grasp. You should know this better than I do, right?"
"Spiritual energy..." Jia repeated, then recalled and realized, "Possibly."
"In that case, you should stop communicating with her," Lou Yi said, now fearful.
Jia was also scared, "In that case, let's wait until dawn," he said, swallowing hard as he looked at the door lock.
Lou Yi grunted and slumped onto the table.
Jia looked at him, confused, "Why are you lying down?"
"I'm injured, I need to rest," Lou Yi said deliberately.
Jia knew... Lou Yi's injury was partly his fault, so he said nothing more."